Seeing Reason
by Awahili
Summary: Emmett's a little more stubborn than Elle gave him credit for. What will happen when he refuses to leave her alone after she's decided to go back to California? Beginnings of Elle/Emmett


"There's no reason for me to stay," she whispered softly, shutting the door before she broke down again. She couldn't stand the heartbreak in his eyes, and she knew leaving would be hard on both of them. But she couldn't stay now, not when it was clear she was just a big joke to everyone. She turned to find Bruiser staring at her from the bed, and she sighed.

"Don't give me that look. I can't stay here. We'll both be happier back where we belong." She heard shuffling outside her door and briefly wondered if Emmett was still there. A few seconds later her question was answered as his voice came through muffled but strong.

"Elle, if you can hear me…" he paused, listening for any sign. But she just sat on her bed staring at nothing. "I just…please open the door. What Callahan did, what he said, was wrong. You're worth so much more than this, Elle. And I know you don't have a reason to stay, but stay anyway. I want you to stay." A tear slipped down her cheek at the emotion in his voice, but the pain and the shame was too overwhelming.

"I'm not leaving until you open the door," he said finally, and she heard something sliding down the wall outside. Then his voice again, a little closer to the floor than before but not weaker. "The Elle Woods I know wouldn't quit, not now." Bruiser yipped sharply from his position next to Elle, and her attention turned to her dog. He cocked his head to the side knowingly, then hopped down and trotted to the door. He looked pointedly at Elle, then at the door, and yipped again. Elle stood up, hugging a pillow to her chest, and unlocked the door but did not open it. She moved back to the bed and sat down, clutching the pillow tightly to her. Slowly, the door opened and Emmett peeked in, his hair mussed from running his hands through it in frustration. He shut the door behind him and padded over to her, dropping down to his knees on the floor in front of her. She didn't look up and Emmett briefly cursed Callahan for demolishing her spirit in one fell swoop.

"I thought I was making a difference," she whispered so softly he had to strain to hear it. "I thought I was proving myself."

"Elle, you don't have to prove yourself to anyone. If you can look me in the eye right now and tell me that you don't want to study law anymore, I'll buy your ticket home. But I remember when you helped Paulette get Rufus back. I remember the look in your eyes when you got the internship. You love this. And you're good at it." She sniffed, holding back tears at his words but unable to agree.

"I'm a fashion major, Emmett. I'm not cut out to be a lawyer."

"Look what you did to Nikos," he countered. "This case would be in an early grave without you."

"Callahan's the best defense attorney in the state. You'll do fine without me." She was looking anywhere but his face now, and his eyes darkened.

"So all that 'sisterhood forever' crap was just talk?" he bit out angrily. He didn't mean to snap at her but she was just being difficult and his emotions were taking over.

"Of course not," for the first time since she got back there was fire in her voice again and Emmett pressed on hopefully.

"So prove it," he challenged. "I gave Brooke my word that I would do whatever I could to make sure she was freed. And my word means something," he said firmly. Finally her eyes snapped to his and he saw a spark of something behind the dullness. "Besides," he continued, "You're kind of being a butthead right now." She let out a short laugh at that, the sound mixing with a sob. Emmett saw the moment her resolve broke and he was ready when she fell forward into his arms.

"I'm sorry," she cried into his suit jacket, her tears staining his collar.

"Hey, it's alright," he soothed, brushing her hair away from her neck and rubbing her back. "I'm right here, Elle. Don't ever think you have to face this alone. I'm not going anywhere." He continued whispering comforting words as she sobbed. At some point she had slid off the bed and he was now cradling her in his lap as she cried, his back resting against her bed. After a while she settled down, and Emmett realized she had fallen asleep. He struggled to a kneeling position then stood up, working to pull down her covers without disturbing her. He laid her down and moved to cover her up, but Bruiser let out a quiet yip and jumped up near her feet before he could pull the blankets over her.

"Shoes, right," he patted the dog's head and pulled Elle's heels off, setting them down at the foot of the bed. "Anything else?" he asked Bruiser. The Chihuahua moved up to Elle's head and Emmett saw she had pulled her hair back. Surrendering to the inevitable, he carefully maneuvered his fingers through her hair, pulling out each barette. Bruiser was sniffing at her jacket by now and Emmett carefully unbuttoned it and slid it off her shoulders, only having to turn her once to pull the garment out from under her. Bruiser huffed satisfactorily and curled up next to Elle.

"Alright," Emmett said finally as the dog closed his eyes. He grabbed a pen and paper and began to scribble a note for Elle to call him first thing in the morning because he had an idea. But as he got halfway through, his words from earlier came back to him and he sighed again. He had promised Elle he wasn't going anywhere, and so he trashed the note in favor of kicking off his shoes and discarding his jacket. He moved as quietly as possible as he found an extra blanket and one of her numerous discarded pillows. The floor wasn't the most comfortable, but at least he would be here if she needed him. He switched off the lights and settled down on an expanse of floor that wasn't directly in her line to the bathroom. It took him several moments to find a suitably comfortable position.

"I love you," he whispered into the darkness. "Just thought you should know." And he closed his eyes.

* * *

Okay, so the inspiration for this came from an "alternate scene" in the Hair Affair as Elle says goodbye to Paulette. If you don't know what I'm talking about, go to youtube and type in "cut scene Legally Blonde." It should be the first thing that pops up. I can see why they cut it from final production, but it's still a really cute scene.


End file.
